&#39;Haas Cherry&#39; cultivar prunus avium Haas

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct variety of sweet cherry tree, ‘Haas Cherry’, originating as the result of a cross between ‘Giant’, an unpatented selection, and ‘Emperor Francis’, an unpatented selection. This new variety is unique because its tree has proven to be reliable to produce regular, heavy crops of mid-season, dark red, fleshed fruit that are dually suitable for commercial uses in both processing markets as well as direct retail sales.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

A new and distinct cultivar of sweet cherry tree originated as aseedling of Prunus avium in the breeding program of Cornell Universityand is hereinafter referred to as ‘Haas’ sweet cherry. This new varietyis unique because its tree has proven to be reliable to produce regular,heavy crops of mid-season, dark red, fleshed fruit that are duallysuitable for commercial uses in both processing markets as well asdirect retail sales of fresh fruits to on-farm customers who pick theirown fruit in Eastern states of North America. It possesses anotherunique feature in that it will pollinate both ‘Emperor Francis’ and‘Ulster’, the two most important mid-season processing sweet cherryvarieties in the Eastern United States sweet cherry processing industry.Here to for, no effective pollinator variety has been available for thispurpose, which could be relied upon to also yield heavily itself.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This new and distinct variety of sweet cherry was discovered by Dr.Richard Wellington (deceased), a plant breeder at the New York StateAgricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, N.Y., a research unit ofCornell University, hereinafter referred to as Geneva ExperimentStation. By breeding methodology convention at the Geneva ExperimentStation it was designated NY 1725. This selection was initially assignedExperiment Station Breeding Record Number 40118, a hybrid population oftrees that resulted from hybridizing the varieties ‘Giant’×‘EmperorFrancis’ in 1940 and this seedling was designated as NY 1725 when it wasplanted in 1944 as part of a population of 16 siblings possessing thesame parentage. The orchard location where the seedling was grown andfirst noticed was designated as Orchard Number 27, Row 1, Tree 34. Thisseedling was selected because in 1951 Cornell scientists purposelylooked for and chose seedlings with heavy cropping characteristics forthe relatively unfavorable weather conditions existing for sweet cherryproduction at Geneva, N.Y., where both cold winters and spring frostsfrequently cause serious damage to trees and flower buds of manyvarieties of sweet cherries. This seedling also was chosen due to itstolerance to rain cracking of its fruits compared to the ‘Bing’ variety,which has predominated in western USA sweet cherry marketing for wellover half a century. NY 1725 was propagated on Mazzard seedlingrootstocks in 1952 so as to create more trees for further evaluations onthe Geneva Experiment Station. Subsequently it has been propagated onMahaleb seedling and ‘Gisela 6’ rootstocks and remains true to thedescription herein.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying photographs show typical specimens of the new varietyas depicted in color as nearly true as is reasonably possible in colorillustrations of this character. These specimens were obtained at theGeneva Experiment Station, Geneva, N.Y.

FIG. 1. Illustrates two intact fruit at maturity with size dimensionsand fruit shape depicted accurately.

A BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT

A detailed description of the ‘Haas cherry’ cultivar follows using TheRoyal Society of London Colour identification except where general colorterms are sufficient.

-   Parentage: A hybrid seedling of the cross: ‘Giant’×‘Emperor    Francis’. Locality of the original discovery and observations is    Orchard Number 27, Row 1, Tree 034 (assigned the designation NY    1725), Geneva Experiment Station, Geneva, N.Y., U.S.A.-   Tree:    -   -   Age and rootstock of specimen.—16 years old on Mazzard            seedling.        -   Height.—5.0 M.        -   Width.—4.5 M.        -   Trunk diameter.—21.5 cm at 100 cm above ground level.        -   Vigor.—Medium.        -   Density.—Medium.        -   Form.—Spreading, laterals are moderately upright to about            the same degree as ‘Emperor Francis’, the male parent of the            new variety.        -   Production.—Heavy, over 200 pounds per season per tree on            Mazzard seedling rootstocks.        -   Bearing.—Annual on spurs and on 2 to 4 basal buds of one            year old shoots.        -   Disease resistance/tolerance.—Similar to ‘Emperor Francis’            in tolerance to brown rot fungus of the blossoms and fruit            (rated 7 at Geneva on scale of 1, as worst, to 9, as best);            also similar to ‘Emperor Francis’ in tolerance to bacterial            canker of the tree and fruit (rated as 7 for tree and 8 for            fruit, again with 1, as worst, and 9, as best; highly            tolerant of black knot fungus of the wood.        -   Cold hardiness.—Excellent, crops regularly in test orchards            in commercial fruit districts of New York, Pennsylvania, and            Michigan where mid-winter temperatures often go below −15            degrees Fahrenheit. Tree livability is excellent in            commercial sweet cherry orchard districts of the Eastern            U.S.A. and is rated by Geneva Experiment Station pomologists            as similar to that of its male parent, “Emperor Francis”.        -   Frost tolerance.—Very good (rated as 7 at Geneva on scale of            1, as worst, to 9 as best)        -   Graft compatibility.—Very good, produces smooth compatible            graft unions with Mazzard seedling, Mahaleb seedling, and            slight overgrowth (as is usually the case for all sweet            cherry scion varieties) with ‘Gisela 6’ cherry rootstocks.-   Trunk:    -   -   Size.—21.5 cm in diameter at 100 cm above the ground for 16            year old tree on Mazzard seedling rootstock.        -   Surface.—Bark is smooth with prominent lenticels.        -   Bark color.—Grayed Purple 183 B, where directly exposed to            the sun.        -   Lenticels.—Grayed Orange 167 B, varying in length from 0.75            to 3 cm and width from 0.25 to 0.6 cm, prominent,            horizontal, elliptical.-   Vegetative buds:    -   -   Placement.—At bud positions 4 and higher number from the            base of new growth, and at the tip of each fruit spur.        -   Appearance.—Pointed and flatter than flower buds on previous            season's annual growth of shoots.        -   Color.—Grayed Orange 165B in fully dormant stage of            development.-   Leaves:    -   -   Size.—9.0 to 11.5 cm in length, 5.5 to 6.5 cm in width.        -   Form.—Symmetrical halves on both sides of central axis.        -   Thickness.—Medium.        -   Texture.—Crisp, leathery.        -   Pubescence.—None on either surface.        -   Margin.—Serrations regular and bluntly pointed.        -   Adaxial surface.—Green 137A.        -   Abaxial surface.—Yellow Green 148C.        -   Veination.—Pinnate.        -   Vein color.—Adaxial Yellow Green 144D, abaxial Yellow Green            144B.        -   Petiole.—6.0 to 6.5 cm length.        -   Petiole color.—Red Purple 59A.        -   Petiole groove.—Narrow.        -   Glands.—1 to 2 on petiole, bluntly globose, length 1.5 to            1.75 mm, width 1 to 1.25 mm, color Orange 28A.-   Flowers:    -   -   Blooming period.—Mid-season, April 25 to May 1 in Geneva,            New York, similar to ‘Emperor Francis’ an unpatented            selection.        -   Presentation.—Non-showy, white.        -   Fragrance.—Sweet, flowery.        -   Fertility.—Self-incompatible, belonging to the pollination            compatibility group designated as having S₁S₄ alleles, which            are the same as those possessed by ‘Rainier’, ‘Hudson’ and            ‘Sylvia’, hence, making them incompatible with each other.        -   Pollen.—Present, plentiful, good pollen source for            pollenizing all other sweet cherries except those with            identical S alleles, as stated above.        -   Corolla diameter.—32 mm.        -   Number of flowers per cluster.—5 to 8.        -   Petals.—Single, round, length 10 mm, width 10 mm, 5 in            number, slightly overlapping, margin slightly ruffled, soft            texture, White 155D.        -   Peduncle.—Length 4.8 to 5.2 mm, width 0.4mm, Green 143B.        -   Filament.—Length 8 mm, width 0.1 mm, White 155 D.        -   Anther.—Profuse pollen, Yellow 13A        -   Sepals.—5 in number, Green 143 B, bluntly ovate in shape.-   Fruit:    -   -   Maturity when described.—commercial ripeness, 19 degrees            brix.        -   Date of first picking.—Mid-season ripening, July 4 to July            10 at Geneva, New York.        -   Size.—Weight 8.5 g, length 3.0 cm, width 2.7 cm.        -   Form.—Cordate appearance.        -   Stem cavity.—Wide and tolerant to concentric rain-induced            cracking.        -   Stem.—length 38 mm, width 1.25 mm, color Green 143 B.-   Skin:    -   -   Thickness.—Medium.        -   Tendency to crack.—Low to moderate, similar to ‘Emperor            Francis, an unpatented selection, rated as 7 at Geneva (1,            worst, to 9 best).        -   Color.—Grayed Purple 187A.        -   Flavor.—Very Good.-   Flesh:    -   -   Texture.—Somewhat above average in firmness, rated as 6.5 at            Geneva (1, worst, to 9 best).        -   Acidity.—Medium until sugar levels get to above mid-teen            levels in degrees brix.        -   Flavor.—Good.        -   Aroma.—Present, pleasing.        -   Color.—Grayed Purple 187B.        -   Coloration in the pit cavity.—Same as flesh.        -   Eating quality.—Very good when mature to above mid-teen            levels of degrees brix and excellent when eaten at high-teen            levels of degrees brix.-   Stone:    -   -   Size.—2 cm in length, 1.75 cm in width at the widest point            near the center, 1.1 cm in width at the widest point of the            flatter direction.        -   Sides.—Ridges, 3 in number, with varying amounts of            encircling of the suture side of the pit.        -   Type.—Semi-freestone a commercial maturity.        -   Tendency to crack.—Non-existent in nature.-   Use:    -   -   Dual purpose.—fresh marketing for on-farm marketing of            pick-your-own fruit is well suited by this variety because            it bears heavy, annual crops of good flavored fruit with            minimal rain-induced cracks; and processing for bakery and            dairy uses of frozen, pitted fruit is also well suited            because of heavy yielding characteristics of this variety            under relatively adverse climatic conditions found in            processing sweet cherry districts of the Eastern U.S.A. This            variety will be highly sought after by processing cherry            growers in the Eastern U.S.A. to be used as a highly            effective pollinator for commercial, processing orchards of            ‘Emperor Francis’, an unpatented selection, and ‘Ulster’, an            unpatented selection, the two most widely planted,            processing sweet cherry varieties grown in the Eastern            U.S.A.

1. ‘Haas’, a new and distinct variety of sweet cherry tree, Prunusavium, substantially as herein shown and described, characterized as tonovelty by the unique combination of hardy, highly productive tree withsuccessful pollination compatibility with all varieties except thosehaving the S₁S₄ alleles.